Lindblad Expeditions Benefits from Celebrity Cruises’ Galapagos Downsizing

Royal Caribbean Group has sold two Galapagos ships to Lindblad Expeditions in a move that reduces the Celebrity Galapagos fleet to just one ship, but doubles Lindblad’s.

According to a spokesperson for Royal Caribbean Group, the time is right for the company to put the focus on its purpose-built ships – Celebrity Flora and Silver Origin. Along with the vessels, Royal Caribbean Group sold the tokens needed to operate each ship in the Galapagos. This means neither Celebrity nor Silversea would be able to add a second ship to their fleets without finding another company to purchase a token from.

The new names of the two ships – the former Celebrity Xpedition and Celebrity Xploration – will be revealed later this month, Lindblad said. The former is a 48-guest vessel with 24 outward-facing cabins and 13 balcony suites. The latter is a 16-guest, eight-cabin catamaran.

Both ships will undergo multi-million dollar revitalizations early next year. They join Lindblad’s current two-ship fleet: the 96-passenger National Geographic Endeavour II and the 48-passenger mega-yacht National Geographic Islander II.

“We recognize and appreciate the immense privilege our Company has to operate and grow our expedition offerings in the Galapagos Islands,” said Sven-Olof Lindblad, founder and CEO of Lindblad. “By sourcing well-appointed vessels… we’re able to transport guests from around the world to the iconic archipelago… We look forward to not only brining more Lindblad Expeditions-National Geographic guests to the islands with the growth of our fleet, but also to having a greater positive social impact…”

Bookings open later this month, with sailings beginning in early 2025.